Surrealistic Art Essay, Research Paper

The modern world has become filled with brilliant designs of art, which are now very influential to viewers of every age. Today s television programs are filled with elaborate special effects and designs that create a sense of wonder as they are seen. Diverse artwork has been present in the world for hundreds of years but was never fully appreciated for the beauty that they beheld. Until recent years, this form of art was rejected but is now in many television programs and especially in the music videos of today. Surrealism has helped to educate and shape the way people today view art and has led to a new form of expression in the modern world.

Surrealism is art without direct meaning, which doesn t always portray the beautiful aspects of Earth, but instead show truth in a hidden form. When surrealism was in the early stages, it was rejected because it reflected the truth of an unhappy life and wasn t filled with what the public felt should be shown. As human education evolved, they began to notice what surrealism was all about and soon began to demand more and more.

One individual, Salvador Dali, helped put surrealism on the map for art lovers around the world. Dali was born on the eleventh of May in 1904 at Figueras, Spain. In 1918, he entered his first art exhibit, which he became well known from at his early age. His surrealistic style didn t begin until 1930 when he began to explore his emotions and started painting his feelings. In 1932 he exhibited his first surrealistic art show in the United States. Throughout Dali s life he published many novels and autobiographies along with numerous screenplays. In 1984, Dali was severely burnt by a fire that started in his house. He later died in 1989 of heart failure in the Torre Galatea where he had been living since the fire at his previous home.

Dali s artwork is now treasured and is featured in art galleries around the world. The Persistence of Memory, painted in 1931, is now well know throughout the world as one of his most famous paintings. This painting features an ocean landscape with dripping clocks. This painting shows that Dali had a wondrous imagination that led him to all of his wild ideas. In nearly every one of Dali s paintings, there are images that are twisted and deformed but show general meaning. His surrealistic style was born when he realized that he could express his feelings and emotions through a single paintbrush, which led to his miraculous paintings. Nearly every one of his paintings contains deep meanings that differ throughout the viewers. Meanings are always different depending on the emotional state that the person viewing the painting is currently in.

Another artist that is considered surrealistic is Maurtis Cornelis Escher who was born in 1898. Escher spent most of his life painting what he observed. He made voyages into the mind and his art never represented tangible reality, but reflected inventions created in his mind. His paintings showed order and beauty from a world that he thought was filled with chaotic violence. His work seemed to reflect outrageous yet quite logical patterns that were scientific as well as surreal. M.C. Escher died in 1972 but his artwork still lives on today.

Surreal art is often said to come from deep inside the mind. Many surrealist artists are often known for their fascination in mythology because it seemed to reveal psychological fixations and desires that were present in every human being. Greek myths seemed to be so alluring to surrealists because they contained stories of metamorphisms between human and animals. Myths were also important because of their importance to non-Western cultures, which were thought to be in danger of divorcing humanity from its primal nature.

Some surrealists used bizarre techniques to accomplish amazing paintings. One technique consisted of a sheet of paper folded into four large portions. Next, four artists would paint an object on their portion and another artist, without seeing the other portions would contribute his style and ideas to his portion. They would then unfold the paper and it would result in a deformed and diverse painting. These artists would study the painting to retain some type of deep meaning from the contraption that they had created. The final result was always different and sometimes turned out to be very beautiful and wondrous.

Surrealism ranks among the most important and influential European art movements of the first half of the 20th century. Many surrealists, including Breton, Masson, Ernst, and Matta, spent time in the United States during World War II. Their presence proved pivotal to the artistic development of the American abstract expressionist painters, particularly to the work of Arshile Gorky, and Jackson Pollock. Surrealism also had a lasting influence on the art of Latin America in the works of artists such as Frida Kahlo of Mexico and Wifredo Lam of Cuba.

The difference in the art depends on the mental structure of the individual whom is painting. If he or she were very imbalanced and psychotic, then the artwork would be very twisted and abstract. Many surrealistic artists found their inspiration by observation of the area around them. Enormous creativity is needed to create such diverse paintings, as did Dali. Both Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher used the landscapes and personalities of themselves to portray their emotions in every painting.

In the musical world today, many artist perform music videos to their biggest hits. These videos often include vivid colors that attract viewers to give the artist improved ratings. Today s top performers have produced videos with originality and imaginative plots. They often journey through a course of a day, or take the viewer through and imaginative walk. These videos are all designed to attract an audience, but also show the artist s feelings and emotions that they attempt to express. Such videos are often shown on the Music Television channel, otherwise known as MTV, and the VH1 channel which is very similar to the MTV station. Many artists today are businessmen but perform their passion through their music just as artists show their emotion through their art.

One particular music video that made a major impression on the music video world was the video featuring Janet Jackson and Busta Rhymes titled What s It Gonna Be. This video dazzled viewers with its special effects and strange designs. This video started in a giant room that appeared to be all liquid metal. All characters in the video seemed to morph into various objects. The music video made the TRL hit list, other wise known as Total Request Live, for over a month, which is unheard of. On TRL, anyone can call in to request their favorite video for a period of time and the videos with the most nominations make the TRL Hit List.

Other artists such as Michael Jackson, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have designed videos with a slightly wild touch. The music video titled Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers featured wild objects transforming into different shapes and objects. The video was quite confusing but eventually made sense to the viewer. Another Red Hot Chili Pepper video was Under The Bridge, which featured images of black and white objects following the main character as he took the viewer through the course of his day. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have created many original and imaginative music videos for their fans and are still currently active in the musical world.

Back in the eighties, a group called the Car s produced many hit music videos that were considered some of the most ingenious and elaborate ever. The video, You Might Think, was by far the Car s most popular song of all time. The video, directed by Jeff Stein, combined blue screen technology and computer animation in order to create many surrealistic images. Susan Gallagher played the girl whom Ric was constantly trying to impress. Ric appeared everywhere as a hanger, a fly, lipstick, and a clock. The rest of the band appears to be playing on a bar of soap in the medicine cabinet. The video ends with Ric splattering onto the screen as a fly and accidentally spells out The End. This video, among others, was well known and was also enjoyed by viewers of all ages.

These surrealistic videos seemed to have different meanings to everyone and appeared to be very confusing for the first time. These artists were attempting to cover uncharted territory in the musical business in order to receive higher ratings, and in many cases they succeeded. Other artists were attempting to explore their imaginations and fantasies in a music video. Some extreme bands used surrealistic ideas to become different and wanted the public to view them as extreme individuals who were totally different from the rest of the musical world.

Surrealism has helped to shape the modern world in which we live and evolve around every day. The need for persons who can fully express themselves with art and music is so very important to our society. These persons add the spice that helps our world to be interesting and colorful. Surrealism is all around us but it takes an individual who enjoys life and captures every precious moment to appreciate what surrealism means to the world.

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